Auction date set for slumlord's blighted former properties

The location of the auction has not yet been determined.

The auctioning off of 86 properties in Kensington and Port Richmond has been scheduled for May 1, according to an attorney representing Kenpor LP.

The location of the auction has not yet been determined.

These homes were formerly owned by the infamous "slumlord millionaire" Bob Coyle, who is currently serving six years in Schuylkill County's federal correction institution.

Coyle swindled tenants in part by mortgaging their homes for millions of dollars during the housing bubble and keeping their rent payments rather than attempting to pay the mortgage.

Kenpor bought the foreclosed assets and in 2012 proposed to rehabilitate all the properties. However, after more than a year of delays in obtaining property titles, Kenpor is now seeking to auction off the properties.

City Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez expressed concerns about the auction plan after it was announced by Kenpor attorneys in February.

“I am concerned to hear that these properties may now be offered up in an open auction, which would make it even harder for the city to ensure they are brought back up to code,” Quinones-Sanchez said in a statement at that time.